"Man Up!"

"Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles." (Psalms 25:22) Sorry gals, if the title might offend you; but something needs to happen in our churches to make the men take responsibility for being a soldier of God, and to fight for their families. Now I hope you don't think less of me for doing this, but I went and watched "Warm Bodies" with my niece last night; and yes, it is a zombie under cover, but it's main message is that "Love Conquers All". With that, and as in the movie, love must still be fought for!!! In other words, we can't just sit idly by and expect everything we care about to just fall into place because love is found and alive, because there are apposing forces that would like to stop love from spreading. I will not say any more about the movie, only that it is good enough to recommend it to watch; but one thing that is sure, is that without Christ in our hearts, we are the walking dead! Remembering that this Psalm is actually a prayer, and that it may have been penned by David when he was placing the ark in it's resting place within the City of David, we can visualize what that might have portrayed to the people, and how it was that the ark represented more than just a symbol of God's presence, but it represented Jesus Christ and the power of God's great redemption for not only His people, but for the entire world. And yet; even in God's great redemption, there is still a need to fight for what you believe; even though the price has been paid for us to be saved, there is still a battle that must be fought within that salvation. In other words; name it and claim it, is a nice slogan for what we believe, but it must still be proven on the battlefield, because the devil is not giving up that easily. Let me try to offend you gals one more time, as I take a closer look at the meaning of "troubles" in the verse we have listed above. The primary meaning is that of distress, but it has a secondary meaning, which is that of adversary; which when taken a step further, can actually mean a vexer or a rival wife. Now I know that none of you women that are following this blog could be classified as a rival wife, so don't take much of this to be about you; but there is nothing more trying to a man's commitment to be a soldier of God, than that of a wife who wants her man all to her self. One of the meanings for "Israel" is that of "contender" or "soldier of God", and the basic idea is that of "to fight"; and in that chance you don't know what "to fight" might mean, it means that you take a stand, which is the opposite of backing down... "We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour." (The Song of Solomon 8:8-10)